"Um, Sona. I have no idea what that's even supposed to mean," Nedora admits, "I thought mothers gave birth and doctors delivered. Besides, I don't think Sparx even heard you."
Sparx, meanwhile, needs no encouragement to take a peak. Soon enough, she's mapping the cannon and projecting a hologram with an exploded view of the parts. Actually, she was doing that with several weapons and parts of 2BR, all the while chatting away in her indecipherable, rapidfire way. Unless stopped, the little golem is going to have a rather detailed schematic of 2BR done in about fifteen minutes.
"How touchy is Bunker Buster about his parts being exposed like this? I can get Sparx to stop if it's going to be a problem. Though at the rate she's going, she'd going to start suggesting mods in about five minutes," Nedora says, just before Sparx finds the retrorockets with a fangirl squee, "make that two minutes. Two and a half if she starts to really gush over the rockets."
Sona shrugs "This One never claimed to be a biologist." She seems a little disheartened by the exchange.
2BR looks up.
> Ensign, translate. Requesting participation of satellite golem in practical test: Can satellite plasmid artifacts effectively be utilized as reusable targeted ammunition?
> Hypothesis: Awesome
The ship touches down gently in a clearing within the former shield perimeter. The Cap'n puts the active scanning data up on every console. The scan indicates that the surrounding area is pockmarked with craters and portions of the ground have been turned to a brittle glass. There is no sign of humanoid life. The scanners also show that there is a series of tunnels and rooms carved down into the bedrock below.
What do you do?
2BR fetches his scanners and heads towards the airlock.
> Sona, requesting detailed scans of nearby area, atmospheric conditions and potential threat analysis
> Organics should follow some way behind, if at all
> Confirm?
Sona shrugs "This One never claimed to be a biologist." She seems a little disheartened by the exchange.
"AGH! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-- I mean--" Nedora stumbles over the words as she tries to apologize to Sona. Truly, she hadn't meant anything by it.
2BR looks up.
> Ensign, translate. Requesting participation of satellite golem in practical test: Can satellite plasmid artifacts effectively be utilized as reusable targeted ammunition?
> Hypothesis: Awesome
Sparx stops mid stream of consciousness and the image of 2BR's structure disappears. The little golem glares indignantly at the android before silently sulking behind Nedora.
"Uh, Bunker Buster? I don't think she'd be able to shrink enough to fit into the cannon. Besides. She's as much her own as you or I, and I think you hurt her feelings a bit when you talked about her like she was just an object rather than a person."
Sparx gives a buzzing sniffle from behind Nedora.
===
After landing, Nedora prepares to scout the area. She pretty much brings everything she owns at this point, after all, she didn't own much. After putting her pack back on and shouldering her weapons, she waits for Sona to tell her it's time to head out.
Sparx meanwhile has begun chatting with the ship's weapon control computer over a wireless connection.
After a moment (spinning wheel of death included on a neat little pop-up display) 2BRs very, very, very underused philosophical modules come online. Sort of.
> Nedora, Sparx. I am an object. I am also a person. Why must we always seek to delineate such things with such rigid boundaries, force ourselves to say "them or us"? Why can't we...
> Why can't w-
> Wh-
> [FATAL ERROR]
> Reverting...
> Files recovered
> Sparx not required to alter dimensions. Observe.
Without further ado, 2BR rotates the cannon fully out, activates his shredders on their lowest setting (an odd sensation) and begins boring out the inner sheathe.
The automated warranty tries to void itself (again) but lags out mid upload. So nothing to worry about there.
"Maybe I should just shut up," Nedora says sheepishly after upsetting 2BR.
After the barrel modifications are finished, Sparx can just barely squeeze inside.
Getting out, though was proving a different story.
"⠠⠓⠑⠇⠏⠲" she says in a teeny voice from inside the cannon.
"It looks like you're in there pretty tight, Sparx. I dunno if I can get you out," Nedora tells her golem friend.
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Rather than face the complexity of the current social interaction, Sona switches to her Sensors console HUD. A courtesy visor lowers over her eyes to indicate she is otherwise occupied.
Sona examined the composition of the atmosphere, looking for breathable air, or in the worst case, volatile chemicals. She also looks at weather patterns, and heat signatures and motion in the area surrounding the ship. Lastly, she checks for EM signatures, electrical activity indicative of machine or computer operation.
2BR switches the projectile cannon pressure field from Suck to Blow, causing Sparx to pop out like a cork from a bottle. Gently, of course. Incombat, the differential would be much higher, and directed at a target that was in for quite the surprise.
What here is not what it seems:
The apparent calm is deceptive. Life signs are negative, but your advanced pattern recognition algorithms detect that there are faint signs of movement, kicked up dust here, new depressions in the loamy soil there. Something is prowling around the base, but it does not register on the Sixes' scanners.
What should I be on the lookout for:
A quick scan through the files provided by Horvus indicates that this base was used as a central refinery for the various autonomous mining stations. Robotic ships would ferry ore from the asteroids and into the central hangar, which lies in ruins to the south. The ore would be moved in large freight elevators down into the lower levels, where the ore would be refined, packaged, and returned to the landing pad beneath the Sixes for delivery out of system. What comes up must go down. There must be an access point to the lower levels near where the ship is parked.
What here is useful and valuable to me:
There doesn't appear to be anything of much value left intact on the surface. But EM readings from deep below ground indicate something is still operating.
"There's activity in the lower levels of the station, even if it's just the computer system churning, it should tell us something. We will want to move cautiously, though, I'm showing evidence of movement, but no heat and no sound. We have some first-class predators on this planet, and we aren't likely to get the drop on them. There should be a way down in the hanger to the south."The technician reports from behind her courtesy visor.
2BR will head towards the elevators. Shields and scanners are up, but weapons arent out. Yet.
As the party exits the ship, Sona begins recording audio to turn in as evidence. She carries the stun lance if only because collapsing it would take too much time.
"Technician log, ancillary contract: On landing, scans indicate no biological signs of life, trace evidence of movement, and deep EM readings. There are no deliveries incoming or otherwise, and the site appears wrecked. We are app-"
Jamee's RAB unit scans the glassed surface with trepidation. Whatever happened here was extraordinarily violent. Focusing on his efforts to find the freight elevator, the elf wunderkind pilots his machine southward, following Sona's estimations. The gynoid's sensors haven't failed them yet. He keeps his weapons at the ready at her mention of an alpha-class predator. When he reaches the hangar doors, if they're closed, he'll sidle up to them and listen carefully for any sounds coming from the other side. If the doors are already open, he's going to poke his head inside and peer about, see what he can see.
As the group exits the ship, all is dark and quiet. Unnaturally quiet. BoT, you see a bird singing on a fallen tree nearby, but no sound comes out. Three moons overhead provide enough light to see by.
BoT, you poke your head inside the hangar and see the debris of a large automated mining ship. The wreckage suggests that the ship had been targeted by fire from directly above, and the damage to the hangar supports that conclusion. There are also numerous charred bodies in the hanger wearing the remnants of T.E.R.R.A. jumpsuits. They appear to have been eaten posthumously.
Farther in the darkness you catch a glimpse of ... something. It looks almost like the distortion in the air when viewing hot pavement. When you glance back, it is gone.
The freight elevator seems to have survived the worst of the attack, and is in the northwest corner of the hangar, directly to your left as you enter.
What do you do?
Back at his control room, Jamee narrows his eyes. Tapping several commands at once into his sophisticated console array, he rewinds playback of his RAB's visual sensors a few seconds, until the shimmering distortion in the air comes back into view. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully for a moment, he studies the thing, then resumes his direct BoT control.
"Something's moving, within. It's extremely good at remaining hidden. Stay together, don't let it attack any of us alone." so saying, the RAB waits for everyone else to join him before cautiously entering the hangar and making his way to the elevator controls. He feels for the button with one hand blindly, his attention focused further within the ruined hangar, his weapons keenly focused. When he finds the button, he punches it lightly with his robot fist.
2BR is going to keep an eye out for any corpses like look somewhat less charred and chewed underground. The three of them aren't particularly tasty, and having an alpha with active camouflage as a pet would be awesome.
Sparx shakes herself once she's free of 2BR's cannon, then proceeds to buzz pleasantly, at first, before the sound starts getting distinctly more sinister.
Nedora, meanwhile, looks on worriedly.
===
Nedora follows the others out, the more normal seeming of her two weapons held at the ready. She wears gloves and a scarf with her hood up to protect her skin form the reflected sunlight of the moons.
"So, anyone here know how tough these predators are supposed to be," the sole tasty member of the away team asks nervously.
Sparx, meanwhile, follows close behind, a pair of what looks like tasers with stilettos for contacts floats off to her sides. The crackling sound they make is a little unnerving to the artificial ears of the three not-tasty members of the party.
You don't see any other sign of the distortion as the elevator arrives. It is damaged, but seems safe enough. The elevator has only two buttons marked "Hangar" and "Refinery." There is a numeric keypad lock that Sona quickly bypasses using Horvus' data, and the party heads down.
The ride down to the Refinery takes about five minutes.
The elevator opens into a large cavern. The cavern is filled with rows and rows of industrial equipment but all of it is silent. You have entered on the south edge of the cavern and helpful signs indicate that the operations center is to the east. Barracks, entertainment facilities, and the dining hall are to the west. The north edge contains numerous conveyor belts that rise at an angle upwards into the rock. These belts are stopped and covered in refined product. You surmise that these conveyor belts lead up to the landing pad.
2BR, from the elevator you do not see any corpses.
What do you do?
> Sona, ascertain cause of cessation of industrial activity
> BoT, search for active threats, primarily camouflaged predator
> 2BR, searching for bait- correction, survivors or deceased in habitation area westwards
> Sparx, maintain altitude, observe and engage threats by discretion
> Nedora, avoid being eaten
> Confirmation, disagreement or alteration to plan?
Nodding at Toober's tactical assessment, BoT activates his Jetpack and takes to the skies, flying up near the ceiling of the cavern to get an aerial view of what lies below. Moderating his jetpack's thrust to lock in hover mode, Jamee activates his RAB's sophisticated sensor suite, sweeping the entire Refinery sector by sector, starting nearest to his companions.
DM,
What should I be on the lookout for?
What here is useful or valuable to me?
What here is not what it appears to be?
"Ostensibly, this outpost was destroyed from space. This begs the following questions: Who piloted the ship that destroyed the outpost, and why would they destroy it? Two possible scenarios include a mercy extermination after a biological infestation, or piracy. Investigating any records we can find should narrow the possibilities. If we can find record of a launch or resistance immediately before the destruction, then this incident can be filed under natural occurrence. It's not likely that their insurance policies cover highly probable native infestations, so it is doubtful they wrecked the place solely to recoup on this misguided reclamation venture. While your confidence is appreciated, pops, this One will not be separating from the bulk of the crew. It would be beneficial to head into operations to make contact with the local hardware." Sona keeps her eyes on the surroundings, maintaining a short distance from the one crew member who is (slightly) shorter than her.
BoT:
What should I be on the lookout for?
Scanning the area you notice two primary items of interest. First, there are nearly completely eaten humanoid corpses in jumpsuits that appear to have been running towards the barracks. Unlike the corpses on the surface, these bodies have not been burned.
Second, your keen sensors identify numerous sets of almost feline footprints in the dust near the conveyor belts. Unfortunately, the majority of the cavern has a clean metal floor, and the footprints are only visible in the area near the conveyors.
What here is useful or valuable to me?
Unless you are interested in heavy mining equipment, there is not much here that would be valuable. However, the mining equipment does provide a number of potential perches that you could try to land on.
What here is not what it appears?
Once the shield fell, you suspect that other ... distortions ... made their way down into the refinery level by climbing down the conveyor belts. It appears fairly straightforward, and there are no illusions at play.
Sona: You have 3 hold to defend Nedora.
What do you all do?
Sparx blows a raspberry at 2BR before flitting around the new and interesting machinery, but still staying close enough that she could come to Nedora's aid if needed.
Nedora, takes to hiding in the dimly lit areas, trusting her eyes and her skill to keep her out of harm's way, but again, staying close enough to the others to be of use, or to call for help, if needed.
Nedora: There is no immediate danger, so you don't need to roll. However, there are intermittent areas of light and dark throughout. You will not be able to remain in constant darkness if you want to move throughout the cavern. For the time being, you know you are perfectly concealed.
Nedora flits from shadow to shadow, the others only catching brief glimpses of her when she enters the light, if at all.
2BR is still heading towards the living area.
Flying to land on one of the mining equipment perches that he found, Blast-O-Tron radios his teammates. "We're dealing with big cats here, people...more distortions that came down here by climbing down the conveyor belts! Look sharp!"
He trains his weapons on the area near Toober as the war machine stomps toward the living quarters, ready to respond if his teammate is attacked.
Frustrated, but incapable of executive action, Sona follows pops to the living area... unless Nedora splits the party.
The group makes its way to the door to the living area without incident, passing numerous half-eaten corpses as they go. The gruesome scenes suggest that the predators prefer to feed on living prey.
A sign above the door indicates that it leads to the barracks, dining area, recreational center, and restrooms. The door is secured by an electronic lock.
As the PCs near the entrance to the living area begin to discuss what to do with door they notice something particularly strange. Although you attempt to speak, no sound comes out.
What do you do?
With her audio manipulation modules still operating, Sona runs a quick battery of tests: analyzing incoming sound, attempting to project an inverse wavelength, random static, tapping objects together, etc. All while watching Nedora for signs of asphyxiation. The mechanics of sound are complex, and Sona is attempting to narrow down what component is missing.
>ping 192.168.2.82
Sona, your tests reveal that you are within an unexplained field that is dampening sound wave amplitudes. This dampening is not complete. For example, when your speakers reach their highest possible amplitude, your nearby receptors are able to discern an extremely low amplitude sound wave. A few additional seconds of testing demonstrates that the field reduces expected sound wave amplitude by approximately 99.9175332555321552%.
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While Sona tries to find why things got far too quiet, Nedora is getting ready to fight. Sparx also looks around, trying to see what is going on.
Unfortunately, Nedora can't get a good enough handle on the area around them. Too many variables and unknowns for her to take any action.
Save than slinking further into the shadows.
> We're in a sound dampening field.
> There may be other effects,
> I would not rely on projectile or fluid-based weapons...
> The air here is acting like pudding.
Sona approaches the lock, and Miss Muffet crawls from her compartment to interface with the device. Sona herself returns to her vigilant stance as the initial binary banter of protocol is made before she can request an open door.
> Security.override(getContractID("0004872047"));
> observation indicates facilities are in disrepair; Technician functionary requesting permission to perform maintenance;
Without waiting for the lock to respond, Sona's mouth moves, and a split second later, a thin, reedy projection pierces the dampening field like a whisper. "This lock is being a jerk. We'll have to remove the door."
The lock seems more than willing to accommodate your request.
>Override accepted - Permission granted; Set.Object_Living.Quarters.Door.All.Open
As the door opens your ocular sensors identify several distortions rush past you into the living area before the party can react. You curse loudly, expecting the dampening field to minimize the sound. Instead, your curse reverberates and echoes through the cavern like a thunderclap.
The door is open. The dampening field appears to be gone.
What do you do?
"⠠⠎⠏⠁⠗⠭⠖ ⠠⠵⠁⠏ ⠠⠦⠑⠍⠖" Nedora says, a teeny, far off whisper in her ringing ears, but a shout to anyone who wasn't just deafened.
"⠠⠗⠊⠛⠓⠞ ⠝⠕⠺⠦ ⠠⠕⠅⠁⠽⠲" the little golem asks before turning to the fleeing distortions and sending twin lances of brilliant arcing electricity into the throng.
"EaT THaT ZZZuckERZ!" The electronic battlecry rings out in the cavern.
As the spunky golem zaps away, Nedora opens fire. Two blasts echo in the chamber, red-hot pellets sizzling through the air. The good news is she hits something that isn't the party. The bad news is the tastiest of the party just gave her position away.
Nedora, the unfamiliar terrain and unknown adversaries has you somewhat out of sorts. Please roll a defy danger (Wis) to see if you were able to notice the distortions bolt through the door.
Miss Muffet takes a tiny leap and is retracted into her compartment with a snap. Sona tries to guide Nedora back into a corner so the distortions have fewer angles to approach from as she turns the stun lance in her hands.
"There was a sound dampening field around this door, but it's gone now. Something brushed past us as the door opened, and we suspect they are the inscrutable alpha-predators. If this is the last recording in this series, our crew was lost." Sona diverts passive power away from the audio module, and begins to spin up her internal flywheels.
2BR is going to sprint down the hallway and crash tackle the first distortion he finds.
2BR, you sprint down the doorway, but are unable to catch up to the creatures before you reach the first intersection. As you look into the barracks in search of the creatures witness a terrible scene.
It appears that about 15 survivors in T.E.R.R.A. jumpsuits had taken refuge in the barracks. Now, the wolves are among the sheep. In the dark lighting, you can't identify the location of any of these animals, or even how many there are. However, you can see one body floating in mid-air that that is being shaken violently. Your experience with fleshy targets indicates that the floating worker is dead.
The survivors appear to be screaming in terror, but your audio receptors do not register the yells. If you call back to the group, you will also find that your speakers appear to be malfunctioning.
What do you do?
Nedora, you manage to get a shot off as the shrouds disappear down the hallway. Unfortunately, Sona was still standing at the door. Either 1) deal half damage to one of the shrouds, or 2) deal your full damage to both the shroud and Sona.
Sona, you still stand in defense of Nedora with 3 hold.
"Arrgh! Why can't you hear me?" Jamee shouts from his control room, slapping the side of his vocoder box, running his scanning programs to ensure it wasn't a glitch on his end. Doesn't matter now... the elf thinks to himself. Got to act!
Jamming into overdrive, the RAB seeks to scoop up two of the survivors and muscle past whatever's feeding on the dead ones to get the survivors as far away from the predator as possible. When he gets to the beginning of the hallway, he'll drop them and go back for another load. Tell me when/if I need to roll.
Yes, assuming I heard the screaming. Wait, was that sound dampened too? If so, ignore that, I wouldn't know about it.